From giant turtles to colorful quilts and skull taxidermy work, Zero Degrees Art Gallery has something that can appeal to anyone’s artistic taste and the best part is, each piece is crafted by a local artist.

The cooperative gallery, located on North Third Street, opened just over six years ago when the idea to have a gallery filled with diverse art from the community became a reality.

“We wanted to be able to showcase our work without having to pay out so much for commission,” said Earl Senchuk, local artist featured and employed at Zero Degrees.

Artists from around the area are able to feature and sell their work in the gallery, said Michele Tuccini, another artist of Zero Degrees.

“We all work together, and we have certain rules and regulations. To have your art here you have to work here,” Tuccini said. “Everyone has to take a turn working and you must be a U.P. resident.”

With the cooperative style of this gallery, artists have more control over the price of their work.

There are more expensive pieces, but a lot of the artists’ prices at Zero Degrees are more moderate than in a typical gallery because they would charge 30 to 50 percent commission on a piece, Senchuk said.

“This makes artists’ drive their price points up so high and they aren’t able to make as many sales,” he said.

Tuccini agreed. “The way we do it, everybody pitches in. You aren’t paying someone to work, you’re doing it yourself. You’re paying with labor instead of your own money,” Tuccini added.

Artists do have to pay 10 percent commission to help pay for the build- ing space and things like advertising, but overall the gallery offers the opportunity to showcase art through a cheaper alternative than usual.

With some of the funds saved by lower commission rates, the artists are able to give back to the community.

“All year long we have an Art Gives Back program, and artists donate a percentage of their sale to an organization,” Tuccini said.

Some artists donate from 50 to 100 percent of their commission to dif- ferent organizations in Marquette. Zero Degrees has donated to the Upper Peninsula Animal Welfare Shelter, Room at the Inn Warming Center, The Beacon House, Music for Kids and many more. Which organization the gallery will donate to is decided by a jury, Senchuk said.

“It’s very diplomatic. We have a committee for everything, a jury committee, a cleaning committee, and exhibits committee, events, etc,” Senchuk said.

“Everyone has a job to do and we work together and help each other sell,” he added.

Every artist in the gallery brings a unique type of artwork. This includes an NMU student that does realistic water colors, jewelry inspired by the nature of the Upper Peninsula, hand knitted dolls and clothing, as well as metal and sculpture work.

Senchuk himself creates distinctive sculptures from metal, concrete and other materials.

“Earl [Senchuk] is an inventor. He makes things with one-of-a-kind personalities, like these turtle sculptures,” Tuccini said.

A local woman really enjoyed Senchuk’s turtles and would put them in her yard for display, but they would consistently be disturbed by people at night.

So Senchuk created a system to keep the woman’s turtles safe, said Tuccini.

“I created a pressure pad so if you lifted any of the turtles’ legs an alarm would sound and trigger an infrared camera to take your picture,” said Senchuk.

You may recall a decorative tree in the yard of the county post office that can be spotted covered in lights or pink ribbons. This was started by Senchuk as another way to bring the artists and community together.

“Everyone got involved with the tree and everyone takes a part in it,” Senchuk said.

A goal of the gallery is to keep everything community-minded and oriented, Tuccini said.

“The community supports us, so we support the community,” she said.